GATINEAU – With the license renewal hearings for Global TV, CTV, Citytv and TVA on the horizon this spring, the CRTC said today it will now first examine the scope of the whole thing.
Specifically, the Commission said it “will review the scope of the licence renewal hearings for the private conventional television stations to determine how the focus can be significantly narrowed or reduced. The public hearings are scheduled for April 2009,” reads its release.
“This review is being conducted in light of the concerns raised by conventional broadcasters about the challenges of the broadcasting environment, as well…
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CALGARY – Just in time for the Super Bowl, CTV said officially today it is broadcasting a high definition signal in Calgary.
(Which may not be good news for fans of American Super Bowl commercials… more on that below)
CTV HD Calgary is now transmitting from CTV Calgary’s Patina Rise headquarters and is the only broadcaster now transmitting over-the-air in HD in Calgary. CTV is also the only one to have HD transmitters in all three markets metered by BBM Nielsen Media Research, Vancouver and Toronto being the other two.
CTV HD Calgary can be accessed by viewers with…
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TORONTO and ST. CATHARINES – Digi-net The Christian Channel has been sold to World Impact Ministries (WIM), owner S-Vox said today.
WIM is a St. Catharines, Ont.-based Christian charity known for media and international work. S-Vox, of course, is the owner of VisionTV and One: the Body, Mind & Spirit channel. The sale still has to be approved by the CRTC and no purchase price was announced.
"We launched The Christian Channel in 2005 with the intent of better serving Canadians with a varied and robust schedule of the finest Christian programming from around the world. I’m proud of the…
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GATINEAU – The CRTC today said that there won’t be any new radio stations allowed in the Guelph, Ont., market.
Three companies had applied to launch new FM stations in the city of about 120,000 about 100 kms west of Toronto and abutting the Kitchener-Waterloo-Cambridge markets and a fourth, Corus Entertainment’s CJOY, had asked to convert from AM to FM.
Citing the size of the market and the current state of the economy, the Commission said no to all four requests.
Guelph is a three-station city swamped by signals from across southern Ontario, where Corus owns AM Oldies…
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TORONTO – Toronto FC soccer team owner Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment said today that it will buy majority ownership of GolTV from Insight Sports.
The agreement to purchase, the price for which was not disclosed, was made by one of MLSE’s affiliate companies, which will see it acquire an 80.1% stake in the 24-hour soccer network. The transaction will require CRTC approval.
"Given Maple Leaf Sports & Entertainment’s operation of Toronto FC, its on-going investment in soccer in Canada and its existing broadcast business we believe soccer fans will continue to be extremely well-served," said Mark Rubinstein, president of…
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TORONTO – The general consensus has long been that in times of economic distress, staying home to watch TV takes precedence over heading to the mall or a movie, so a recession isn’t quite as hard on cable companies and channels, for example, as it is on companies in other sectors.
While this is the first painful recession of the new media age (when home entertainment options are now far more diverse), that cocooning reflex we seem to exhibit when under financial duress seems so far to be holding true and helping according to High Fidelity HDTV co-founder Ken…
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TORONTO – There were a spasm of news stories just after the holidays that highlighted the need for better emergency 911 service for wireless phones in Canada.
There have been a few accidents, and in one case, a fatality, that might have been averted if emergency personnel had been better able to pinpoint where a wireless caller was at the time they called.
And there is no doubt that better 911 service for wireless phones is, of course, a necessity here in Canada.
However, the stories in the consumer press centred on how the wireless industry in Canada hasn’t…
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DARTMOUTH, N.S. – Newcap won’t bag Ontario’s Moose after all.
Newfoundland Capital Corp. and Haliburton Broadcasting announced today they will not be proceeding the previously announced sale of 12 FM radio stations owned by Haliburton (its mid and northern Ontario-based Moose FM franchise) to Newcap.
The $19 million acquisition announced in July 2008 was still subject to CRTC approval but “both parties have mutually agreed not to proceed with the application,” said a press release issued after the close of trading Monday afternoon.
"While we view these radio stations as very attractive and assets we would like to own…
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MONTREAL – Radio-Canada issued “a full apology” Wednesday “to anyone who felt offended” by its controversial New Year’s Eve special ‘Bye Bye 2008’.
The network issued the apology at the request of the Black Coalition of Quebec, the statement read.
As reported by Cartt.ca, Radio-Canada and the CRTC received a flood of complaints from viewers about the satirical variety show. The Globe and Mail also published a column critical of the program, saying the content “seems to have gone far over the line, even by Quebec’s forgiving standards” in skits “featuring gags on the assassination of U.S. president-elect Barack Obama,…
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TORONTO – Look Communication’s shareholders voted “overwhelmingly” in support of a plan to sell some or all of its key assets.
Approximately 94% of voters approved the sales process and arrangement resolutions, the press release said. The resolutions required the support of 66 2/3 per cent of Look’s shareholders. As reported by Cartt.ca, Look received Court approval last month to hold a “special meeting of shareholders” to seek approval of the sale.
"We believe our assets should be broken up to realize their maximum value. Through the sales process, it is possible that we could see a series of…
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